In manufacturing operations it is often necessary to handle a large quantity of small parts which may be of similar or even identical characteristics and which must be individually inspected, tested, and assembled into final products. If the inspection or test procedure indicates that a particular part must be rejected then either it must be removed entirely or marked or else a record must be kept indicating that the particular part is not to be used in the manufacture of an assembly. Furthermore, it is advantageous to handle the parts, and to inspect and test them, by means of automatic machinery whenever possible, but in such a way that the parts will not be damaged.
The specific technology to which the present invention is directed is the manufacture of microminiature electronic assemblies from semiconductor wafers that are then cut into individual chips or dice. Such wafers are generally made in a flat configuration similar to a pancake but have mechanical characteristics similar to glass. The individual chips are so small that handling them, whether manually or by machine, is inherently difficult.
Thus the object and purpose of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for fabricating, testing, and assembling small parts in a way that is effective and economical.
More specifically, the object of the invention is to fabricate, test, and assemble the semiconductor chips that are required in microminiature electronic assemblies, in a manner that is fast, reliable, economical, and which minimizes damage to the chips.